The owners of an Auckland motel say they are the victims of a dirty trick after they were accused by New Zealand First leader Winston Peters of advertising for cheap, illegal labour.

The breakdown of Prime Minister John Key's military plane in Australia is the latest in a series of incidents.

Although no leading politician is likely to claim that "election is rigged", there are numerous problems with democracy and elections that need debating.

COMMENT: NZ First leader has been vocal about parents' strain on pension.

The Ministry of Education based in Nelson? It could happen under New Zealand First policy.

We're working through the numbers, says police minister Judith Collins, as she suggests more cops may be on the way.

COMMENT: It was Real House Roosters of the Beehive kind of stuff, an A-grade brouhaha.

A brief liaison with a man she didn't know cost a young Auckland woman $28 a week off her benefit for two years.

COMMENT: If politics was the Olympics, Winston Peters would be three-times triple-gold. No one comes close.

It came as something of a shock to get off the plane after a week in New York to hear calls for a state of emergency to be declared in safe little old New Zealand.

New Zealand First is denying claims by Chinese New Zealand leaders that an op-ed slamming Chinese immigration was actually a PR stunt by the party.

COMMENT: With every passing week, it becomes more likely that New Zealand First will decide the next Government.

Our political correspondent ponders polls, cannabis and wiping student loans in return for public service in the regions.

We ask the New Zealand First leader if he's being a party pooper and a wet blanket over the government's aspirational goal of a predator-free New Zealand by 2050.

COMMENT: Debate over Brexit, which began a year ago, has been fierce with no political punches being pulled, writes Barry Soper.

Britain leaving the European Union is the best chance to reverse immigration restrictions on New Zealanders, NZ First leader Winston Peters says.

NZ First's parliamentary rookie has been described as a 'survivor'. She talks to political reporter Nicholas Jones.

Calling somebody Trumpesque has become the insult du jour in Parliament, way up there with calling somebody Muldoonist or the offpsring of Margaret Thatcher.

COMMENT: The flag debate shows the sad truth that John Key does not care for history.

Ron Mark's attack on Melissa Lee's right to criticise her adopted country would have been poor in public but is appalling in Parliament.

The TPP could halve the number of major foreign investments in New Zealand which need to pass "good character" and business experience tests.

The Labour leader is only just in front of NZ First leader Peters in the preferred PM stakes but says he will not entertain the suggestion of sharing the top job.

He might prefer whisky and cigarettes to Churchill's port and cigars, but Winston Peters appears as passionate and energised as ever, writes John Armstrong.

John Armstrong writes: NZ First is marooned in a time bubble of the economic boom of the 1950s along with the suffocating social conformity of that era.

NZ First leader Winston Peters is considering a policy that would force new immigrants to take out personal medical insurance instead of using New Zealand's public healthcare system.

Winston Peters has said NZ First will grow its membership by tens of thousands of people by the next election or he will resign.

More changes in New Zealand First are on the way after the recent tussle for the deputy leadership and as many in the party look to the future.

Winston Peters clearly got some momentum from the Northland win. The question is whether he's made the most of it, writes Claire Trevett.

New Zealand First members have walked out on Parliamentary question time after Winston Peters was ejected by Speaker David Carter.

National's latest bit of tinkering with its immigration policy will not solve the Auckland housing crisis. It will barely touch it.